Spider Mites and Farming

Learn the most effective means to manage spider mites in a farming environment. Read about how a spider mite infestation can affect farming.

Destructive nature

Many farmers or those working with crops or in gardens dread the spider mite. This is because of what this insect is capable of. Each spider mite belongs to the 1600 species of spider mites and what has made this pest infamous is its destructive nature. A spider mite naturally survives on plant juice and would normally find a secluded spot in the bottom side of plant leaves and then spin some protective web around that spot for its safety.

Lasting measures that will keep your crops safe

If you have to effectively deal with a spider mite population they you have to be well prepared to face what it takes to apply lasting measures that will work to keep your crops safe. At this point some basic understanding on the nature and characteristics of the spider mite may come in handy. A spider mite has a life span of about two weeks. What is more important on the nature of a spider mite is that each female spider can lay up to 20 eggs in 2-3 days. A newly born spider just needs about five days to become sexually active and then reproduce to multiply the spider mite population.

A spider mite favors dry and hot weather

Once a spider mite has pricked the plant cell the insect will suck off the plant juice and the next thing the plant will wither and shortly begin to die off. A spider mite favors dry and hot weather conditions and this is why one of the best methods of dealing with a spider mite invasion is to water your plants or your crops in a persistent routine, without damaging your crops by over watering them though. If you apply this method effectively the spider mite army will emigrate and seek more favorable living conditions. As you apply these methods you have to target the bottom sides of your plants or crops leaves such that you ensure that no spider mite remains hiding under leaves only to reproduce and raise a ravaging population again.

Dealing with spider mites

There many known ways of dealing with a spider mite. Some of the methods that can effectively get rid of spider mites are what can be classified as natural methods. Some of the methods include isolating infected plats. In this case if you identify a spider mite on particular plants you then have to move these plants away from the rest of the crop population. This will help you to deal with the infected crops separately and stop the pest from spreading across the entire crop population. This is a useful method given the rate at which a spider mite population spreads.

They can reproduce rapidly

Spider mites grow and reproduce in a short turn around and if the first occurrence of these spider mites is not spotted and stopped these insects can spread and destroy the entire crop population in a very short space of time. Watering the plants consistently is yet another effective natural method you can use. Another effective natural method is using lady bugs. This method works on using other beneficial pests to feed on these dangerous pests to eliminate them. If need be; you can also go for chemical based pest control measures if you need to deal with a spider mite invasion head-on.

We hope this article about spider mites and farming was informative and was helpful in your search for a spider mite elimination plan.